Michael Burgess: “I rise tonight to recognize a member of the Texas House from my district and my hometown of Denton, Texas.…”

“I rise tonight to recognize a member of the Texas House from my district and my hometown of Denton, Texas. Representative Myra Crownover has written what I consider to be the most insightful remarks regarding the recent lack of a quorum in the Texas House. Her remarks were written and carried in the Denton Record-Chronicle last weekend. I ask Members to listen to Representative Crownover in her own words. ``I would like to take this opportunity to explain what is at the heart of the battle between Texas House Republicans and Democrats. ``Though Republicans and Democrats debate and disagree on a number of issues each and every session, none is as arduous or contention as redistricting. While most legislation concerns issues that cross party lines, such as children, health care or education, redistricting is simply about politics and elections. There is no bipartisan redistricting. There never has been, there never will be. It is the nature of the beast. ``Although the Legislature addressed congressional redistricting 2 years ago in the last legislative session, lawmakers could not agree on new lines, so a panel of three Federal judges did, and their map led to a 17-15 advantage for the Democrats. Rather than drawing a map that currently reflects the political landscape of Texas, the lines were tooled just enough to keep the map legal. There is no question that the current map meets the standards for redistricting spelled out in law.…”